Local music notes: Southside Desire, Black Diet, Venus DeMars

Two fun new bands with hints of vintage soul and punky overtones, Southside Desire and Black Diet have teamed up for a split 7-inch single that they’re releasing Sunday for the annual Palmfest bash at Palmer’s Bar.

The highlight of the four-song collection is the perky pop gem “Casualty of Love” by the Southside crew, whose three shoo-bop-bopping female singers and three backup dudes have been heating up via such gigs as the Uptown Pride and Memory Lanes block parties.

Black Diet, formerly known as JT & the Sloppy Seconds (smart name change!), shows off the heavy, Heavy-like punk-soul power of Jonathan Tolliver in the gem of a kiss-off jam “You Did It Yourself.” Southside plays around 7 p.m. and Black Diet at 8:30 p.m. … The two-day Palmfest kicks off Saturday with performances by Spider John Koerner, Eleganza!, Poverty Hash and headliner Cadillac Kolstad (1 p.m. start both days, $5). …

Joining the elite company of Atmosphere, Trampled by Turtles and Poliça among local acts that have packed Cabooze Plaza, Prof has announced his biggest local headlining gig yet in the parking lot venue Sept. 7 with Evidence, MaLLy and more. Tickets ($20) go on sale Friday at noon. … Minneapolis rap vet Muja Messiah has teamed with another young up-and-comer, Audio Perm’s Bobby Raps, in a new duo called Empire Status. They’ve already made a full album together — purportedly inspired by HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” — and will preview it for fans of all ages Saturday at Fifth Element record store (5 p.m., free). …

While Dave Pirner’s revamped crew will once again perform “Grave Dancers Union” in its entirety for the LP Tour concert July 26 at Target Field, Soul Asylum also has a new EP to promote. The band’s first recording without co-founding guitarist Dan Murphy is a mini-collection of covers, “No Fun Intended,” featuring new John Fields-produced takes on Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” MC5’s “Shakin’ Street” and even local pioneers the Suicide Commandos’ “Attacking the Beat.” … The Suburbs, meanwhile, have set an Aug. 27 release date for their first album in 27 years, “Si Sauvage.” The Kickstarter campaign for it wraps up July 26. …

Transgender glam-punk scene vet Venus DeMars is embroiled in a dispute with the IRS, which denied her claims as a professional artist. The Triple Rock is thus hosting the “Audit Hell” fundraiser for her legal fees Saturday with performances by DeMars’ All the Pretty Horses, Pennyroyal, Magneto Effect, Nate Dungan and more, plus an art auction (10 p.m., $7). … At the request of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Jeremy Messersmith has lined up a bunch of his musical friends to perform at a seven-hour marathon of weddings at City Hall starting just after midnight Aug. 1, when the state’s new Freedom of Marriage law goes into effect. Lucy Michelle, John Munson, Matt Wilson, Adam Levy, Chris Koza and more are committed to what Messersmith guessed would be “one of the greatest and strangest gigs I’ve ever played.” …

It has 28 years to go to catch up to the John Lennon tribute, but First Ave’s “Remember the Time” memorial dance party for Michael Jackson is back for the fourth straight year Saturday with DJs Mike 2600 and Dan Speak leading the way (10 p.m., $5). … As promised, the Pizza Lucé Block Party will return Aug. 10 but is moving from Uptown to downtown, with a newly announced lineup featuring rising local metal quintet After the Burial, Bloodnstuff, Haphduzn and Frankie Lee, plus a local headliner that will be revealed Monday after it plays another gig here this weekend. Put your guesses in motion now.

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.